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A "perya" is a local amusement park, a pop-up store of rides, pastimes and gambling games. These roving carnivals crop up during fiestas (saint's days celebrations) in most provinces and some parts of cities here. I remember, when I was a kid, I used to frequent them to meet up with friends in the evening, while away time on rickety rides, and gamble lunch money on color games. At the betting booths, when you are lucky enough to win over the house (and contest your wins hard enough), you get to either double your money or take home dinner plates and drinking glasses. Freak shows are not as marketable though; adults often tell us that it is not worth going there, they are just "fake" shows.
Peryas felt like a dream, with the colored incandescent lights firing all at once in the arms of the Ferris Wheel and the Octopus (a popular ride, much like cups and saucers, except that the "saucers" are attached to the tentacles, lifting you in the air by a few meters), hazed up by the rising dust and cigarette smoke. With all this dazzle, I wondered what these parks look like at day. It is why I started taking pictures of them recently.
I am amazed at the airbrush paintings on all the booths and rides. Most people would could this low-brow art; this for me warrants collectors' attention. Even the letterings are very distinct! Color palette mostly consists of primary and secondary colors. The characters are inaccurately portrayed, though "re-interpreted" should be the better word to describe these depictions.
I do hope to add more to this series. If I have enough material (and time), I could compile this in a book. For now, I hope this should do to get these works out there.
